The threat posed by toy helicopters, dreaded nemeses of tyrants since the day that man’s children first took to the extremely low altitude skies, will cause Chinese Communist Party (CPC) ministers sleepless nights no more. The sale of toy flying machines, or democracy-death-copters as they are commonly referred to in Zhongnanhai, has been severely restricted during the upcoming leadership transition.

For some models of helicopters and planes — which can only be guided within a few metres — purchasers must prove their identity to the shopkeepers, Beijing’s Youth Daily reported.Other shops have been ordered to suspend selling the toys altogether, the newspaper said.

Netizens have also reported being required to fill out forms when getting into a taxi, divulging personal information and intended destination to the authorities. Others experienced restrictions on their ability to buy knifes, an understandable fear for the CPC which only has around 2.25 million soldiers to call upon and is therefore extremely vulnerable to butter-knife wielding civilians.